Contents of this Section:

Global Highlights

The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for July 2011 was the seventh warmest on record, at 16.37°C (61.43°F), which is 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the 20th century average of 15.8°C (60.4°F).

The July worldwide land surface temperature was 0.84°C (1.51°F) above the 20th century average of 14.3°C (57.8°F)—the fifth warmest July on record.

The worldwide ocean surface temperature was 0.47°C (0.85°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F)—the 11th warmest July on record.

Neither El Niño nor La Niña conditions were present during July 2011. According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, ENSO-neutral conditions are expected to continue into the Northern Hemisphere fall 2011.

For the year-to-date, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature of 14.31°C (57.82°F) was the 11th warmest January–July period on record. This value is 0.51°C (0.92°F) above the 20th century average.

Please Note: The data presented in this report are preliminary. Ranks and anomalies may change as more complete data are received and processed. Effective with the July 2009 State of the Climate Report, NCDC transitioned to the new version (version 3b) of the extended reconstructed sea surface temperature (ERSST) dataset. ERSST.v3b is an improved extended SST reconstruction over version 2. For more information about the differences between ERSST.v3b and ERSST.v2 and to access the most current data, please visit NCDC's Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.

Introduction

Temperature anomalies for July 2011 are shown on the dot maps below. The dot map on the left provides a spatial representation of anomalies calculated from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) dataset of land surface stations using a 1961–1990 base period. The dot map on the right is a product of a merged land surface and sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly analysis developed by Smith et al. (2008). For the merged land surface and SST analysis, temperature anomalies with respect to the 1971–2000 average for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged to form the global analysis. For more information, please visit NCDC's Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.

July

Large portions of each inhabited continent, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, were substantially warmer than average during July 2011. The continental areas with the most anomalous warmth included Northern Europe, western and eastern Russia, and most of North America. Cooler-than-average conditions were present across central Russia, Western Europe, the northwestern United States, and southwestern Canada. The worldwide land surface temperature was 0.84°C (1.51°F) above the 20th century average—the fifth warmest July on record.

The worldwide ocean surface temperature represented the 11th warmest July on record. The warmth was most pronounced across Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea in the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes and in the north central and northwestern Pacific Ocean. Cooler-than-average SSTs were present across much of the Eastern Pacific and the high latitude southern oceans. Neither El Niño nor La Niña conditions were present during July 2011. According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC), ENSO-neutral conditions are expected to continue into the Northern Hemisphere fall 2011, with an equally likely chance of ENSO-neutral or La Niña conditions thereafter.

Overall, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature for July 2011 was the seventh warmest July since records began in 1880, with an anomaly of 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the 20th century average.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), July 2011 maximum temperatures were above normal for all states and territories in Australia for the first month since April 2010. La Niña conditions during 2010/11 kept temperatures below normal across most of the country for more than a year.

July temperatures were about 0.5°C–1.0°C (0.9°F–1.8°F) cooler than average across the United Kingdom, resulting in the coolest average monthly July temperature since 2000, according to the UK Met Office. The average minimum July temperature was the coolest since July 1980. Dublin Airport reported its coolest July in 46 years, with an average temperature of 13.8°C (56.8°F).

The Spain Meteorological Agency (AEMET) reported that the average temperature for July 2011 was 23.3°C (73.9°F). While just 0.1°C (0.2°F) below the 1971–2000 average, this was the coolest July since 2002.

Year-to-date (January – July)

The January – July 2011 map of temperature anomalies shows that anomalous warm temperatures were present over much of the world, with the exception of cooler-than-average conditions across the northwestern United States, southwestern Canada, most of Australia, part of southwestern Russia, northern Kazakhstan, eastern Mongolia, southern China, and large parts of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. The combined global average land and ocean surface temperature for January–July period was the 11th warmest such period on record. This value is 0.51°C (0.92°F) above the 20th century average. Separately, the average worldwide land surface temperature ranked as the 8th warmest on record, while the worldwide average ocean surface temperature ranked as the 11th warmest January–July on record.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the 12 month period from August 2010 to July 2011 was the coolest August to July period for maximum temperatures at 1.62°C (2.92°F) below average. This was also the second coolest 12 month period on record (comparing any 12 month period). The record was set from December 1973 to November 1974 when the average maximum temperature was 1.64°C (2.95°F) below average.

The average position of the upper-level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure (depicted by positive and negative 500-millibar height anomalies on the July 2011 map, respectively) are generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively. For other Global products, please see the Climate Monitoring Global Products page.

Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2009 from the weekly SST page.

* Southern Hemisphere Land tied with 1959 as 11th warmest on record. * Southern Hemisphere Ocean tied with 2006 as 7th warmest on record* Southern Hemisphere Land and Ocean tied with 2001 as 9th warmest on record.

Precipitation

The maps below represent anomaly values based on the GHCN dataset of land surface stations using a base period of 1961–1990. Precipitation anomalies on a month-to-month basis are often highly variable across the globe and even within regions. The areas with the wettest anomalies during July 2011 included Central and Southern Europe, the Philippines, North and South Korea, western India, and parts of the Caribbean. The driest anomalies were present across the southern United States, parts of Brazil, most of eastern Australia, and southern China.

Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for July 2011, published online August 2011, retrieved on December 9, 2016 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201107.